Gypsy Creams

Jamie on 13 March 2011 @ 2pm

We had one of these in the late 1970s and relatives would still be amazed at it turning itself off – often switching it off before it went off as a reflex.

The price may be expensive, but they were built to last: my parents must’ve had that Russell Hobbs kettle into the early 1990s. Nowadays they’re a disposable-priced disposable item. And made of unrecyclable plastic, ho hum.

Nice to see Russell Hobbs as part of the British group Tube Industries. The company is now the American Russell Hobbs Inc, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Hobbs

Mark Thompson on 13 March 2011 @ 3pm

What, it took them until 1969 to realise that sticking a bi-metallic strip (invented 210 years earlier – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimetallic_strip#History) into an electrical kettle might be a good idea?

Martin Fenton on 14 March 2011 @ 5pm

What Jamie said re. their longevity. When I moved out of my Mum’s house in August 2000, I was given my Aunt’s Russell Hobbs kettle, the same kettle with fabric-covered mains lead that they’d had and used every day since before I was born in 1976. Its only maintenance had been the occasional descaling tablet. It was binned, still working, the following year when we were bought a modern, plastic jug kettle as a wedding present.

Ten years later, we’re on our fourth modern, plastic jug kettle. Progress, eh?

Philip on 21 March 2011 @ 5pm

I’ve still got mine… we use it as a back-up, every time another plastic jug kettle packs up and has to be thrown out.